No Hero
by xdcfvghnjmkl
Summary: My name is Martin, and someday soon, I'm going to make them pay for what they did to me. All of them. Every. Last. One. Starting with Dr Valentine. *NIMH fic*


I know The Secret of NIMH 2 was pretty much a failure, and the fandom has practically rejected the movie and even denies its existence, but I absolutely loved Evil!Martin as a kid. I felt like the movie could have been better, had complete idiots not been writing and directing it. They could have done a lot with Evil!Martin if they'd kept the mood dark and realistic like the first movie.

I'm not really expecting any reviews for this, but I really wanted to write it. So, like it or lump it! =P

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters.

* * *

_Hero._

I hate the word. All it is is a reminder of how I've always been second best—always have been, always will be.

It wasn't even his fault, really; everything was forced on him. He didn't want to leave home; he didn't want to go to Thorn Valley. Mom practically made him, and yet I still hate him for it.

I know no one would ever willingly come back to_ NIMH _for me, not even Tim. I might not be 'the chosen one', but I'm not dumb, either.

You know it's funny, I think I even hated Tim a little when we were younger, too. I didn't let myself admit it until he left, though. How messed up is _that_? I tried to be a good brother, I really did, but I couldn't even do that very well. I sometimes even liked it when Tim was sick, just so he would stay out of the way; just so it could be us four for a while.

He always got the attention, though, one way or another.

He probably faked being sick some of the time.

No… That's not right. He really _was_ sick. I _saw _him. He could have died. I remember it.

My mind is playing tricks on me again.

Dr Valentine says just two more treatments to go. Until what? I wonder. Why is he doing this? All these animals sit in cages all day long; they don't even do anything. They're useless now, stupid, pitif—What is happening to me? I know it's the treatments, but it's still scary that something can actually change and alter the way you think and feel; make you into something you aren't.

Dr Valentine keeps me in a in separate cage from the rest of the mice, but sometimes a girl mouse talks to me. No one else does, though, and sometimes I can hear the others tell her not to talk to me. How can they do this to me? Don't they know who I am? Idiots! They know_ nothing. _This has been their entire world for so long, they've probably forgotten everything there is to life. Well, I haven't. I can still remember what the sky looks like, and what the ground beneath my feet feels like.

I don't belong here.

Things only got worse after Tim left for Thorn Valley. Nobody saw things the way I did. Why him? Why not me? I was older, bigger, and stronger. But no! He got to go somewhere he didn't even want to go, to fulfil some bogus prophecy some dumb old rat predicted, while I stayed behind, to do what _with_ my life? Mom always said I just didn't understand, and when I got older I would. She also said I should respect Nicodemus and the Rats.

Everyone was wrong. I was destined for great things, too. I knew it! I had to be. I just had to go out into the world and find them.

I didn't pack a thing or even say goodbye to anyone; I waited until everyone was asleep, and I left. It was dangerous to travel by night, which was when the owls hunted, but it was my only chance to cover some serious ground. I walked all night, hiding when I thought I heard wings flutter in the sky. I made it until dawn, when I was so tired I walked right into one of NIMH's traps.

I tried everything I could think of, but there just wasn't any point. The traps were new and improved, impossible to open by yourself. In a last ditch effort at freedom, I ripped my shirt off and threw it outside the cage, hoping that maybe they would think I was a regular mouse, and toss me back. It wasn't a great plan, but it was all I could think of.

His assistant found my shirt, and waved it excitedly at Dr Valentine, who looked at me with this evil glint in his eye. He chuckled, and said that I was "quite clever" and that with some "little alterations" I could become far more superior.

I was afraid then, more afraid than I've ever been in my entire life. They took me back to... I don't know where, and that was where I first met the other mice. Everything happened so fast after that first night. They took me away, put some weird thing on my head and shocked me over and over, until things started to change. I could hear a voice inside my head, not my own. At first it was just this dull sound, like too many people whispering at the same time, but with each treatment the voice grew louder, until it got to the point where I was saying and thinking things that just weren't like me.

I remember I was_—_

'Psst!'

…

My ears twitch at the sound of a voice, and everything changes suddenly. I'm in my cage.

'Hey! You!'

I groggily pull myself up and shuffle to the front of the cage, holding onto the bars._ We're still here_, Martin, they seem to taunt.

I test my voice, not even sure it's still there. I'm unfamiliar to myself sometimes. It's like I'm a stranger in my own body. 'Are… Are you talking to me?'

'Yes I'm talking to you. I'm Jenny. What's your name? You still there?'

'_Martin_,' I suddenly blurt out. 'My name is Martin.'

'Shh!'

Everyone must be asleep; I don't hear anyone telling her to get away from the bars or to stop talking to me.

'What are you doing up?'

'I'm bustin' out of here.'

'What?' I whisper, my insides churning with excitement and dread. She doesn't say anything back, but I can hear her grunting, like she's being hurt or something. Maybe someone woke and is trying to keep her quiet. 'Hey? Jenny? J_—_'

'Shh!' she warns me again, and I see a head of blond hair pop up into view. She's beautiful, but she isn't smiling. When I realise the look on her face is directed at me, and how horrible I must look, I shrink back into the shadows.

'Take me with you?' I beg.

'If I let you out, you're on your own. No offence or anything, but I've got to get to Thorn Valley, and fast.'

'Thorn Valley?'

'Yeah,' She stops and looks at me, this time with excitement, not pity or fear. 'You know it?'

'Yeah. My br_—_' I stop myself, and my voice becomes flat, 'Yeah, I know it.'

Her eyes light up. 'Any idea where it is?'

Something inside me warns me not to tell her, that she should figure it out for herself, that I shouldn't waste my time helping her.

'Yeah. South by south by south,' I force myself to answer, shivering. Another memory surfaces and I lose myself in it for a moment.

'You're not headed there too, are you?'

'No.' I pause. 'I'm headed… someplace else.' Someplace I haven't decided yet.

A few minutes pass and my cage door springs open; Jenny is still hanging on to the door.

'Thanks.'

'You're welcome,' she says, and hops down to the ground. 'Now get going,' She calls up to me, 'and good luck!'

Jenny vanishes, and I'm alone, staring at the open cage door as if it might suddenly snap shut on me. When I'm sure she's gone, I leave my cage and slide down the bars of the other cages. Other animals hear me and flock to the bars. Some ignore me completely, and stay in bed. Nobody wants to be caught up in an escape, because worse things could happen if you're caught.

This is insane, I think to myself. Where am I going to go? What am I going to do? Go home. No. Things are different, now_—you're_ different, now.

Scurrying down the hallway, I keep to the wall and try to stay quiet. Just like I was when I left home, I'm angry again, angry with myself. Angry with Tim. It isn't fair. I know my image is distorted, but it can't be too far from the truth.

_I'm a monster. _

Tim is a Hero, and I'm a monster. How fitting._  
_

Maybe_ this_ is my destiny. Maybe all this is a good thing, and I just don't' realise it yet. Wait, what am I saying? I look back over my shoulder and shudder. _This isn't good for anyone, and you know it. You think they are enjoying this? Are _you _enjoying this?_

… I don't know.

No. And yet…_ yes._

I'm much bigger now, much smarter.

Smarter? So what? Look at what he's doing to you!

How do you know it isn't for the best?

Are you_ insane_?

Am I?

Maybe I can do something about this. I _have_ to do something! To help the others? _Forget_ the others. They outcast you. You don't need them. Let them rot in their cage. Dr Valentine is who you should be directing your anger towards. _  
_

My head is throbbing and I run as fast as I can, not even looking where I'm going anymore. I just want out. I want out of this building, out of this world, out of this _body_ if that's what needs to happen for me to have some sort of silence inside my head. I'm so caught up with running mental circles around myself that I don't even notice I'm sliding across the floor until it's too late, and I slam into a wall.

'Over here, Dr Valentine! I've got it!'

A net slaps down over me and I freeze. A pair of glasses stoops down to my level and I scowl; the anger just keeps growing.

'Good! Put it back in its cage.'

'Yes, Dr Valentine.'

The net lifts into the air and a hand clamps down over my only escape. I'm carried back to my cage, and this time the other mice are watching me. They look sad. For a minute, I trick myself into believing that maybe they're sad that I was caught. I'm such a fool. They don't even know me. They don't even consider me one of them. They're worried about Jenny.

The man stops in front of their cage and checks the lock, smiling to himself. I'm so _stupid._ Jenny had the sense to redo the latch when she left. I didn't. And because of that, I was caught. There is a shriek from down the hall, a woman's voice this time. Someone is walking in this direction, heavy footfalls, huffing and puffing. Jenny appears before my eyes again, and I watch her get shoved back into her cage.

'Put me down!' she shrieks, struggling.

The door slams shut, and I can hear the other mice trying to calm her.

'It isn't fair! I almost made it! I was almost out,' she cries.

'Jenny,' I hear a man say. He sounds tired. 'Jenny, please, be calm.'

'I have to try again! I can do it. You have to help me!'

A woman shushes her, and the voices start to fade. I can still hear her gasping and sobbing, but even that soon stops.

My only burn my eyes as I slide down the cage wall, dropping my head onto my arms. I have another treatment tomorrow, and who knows what my mind will be like then. I think of my family as I cry, even Tim; hoping no matter what happens to me I won't forget them.

I don't _want _to be alone. I don't _want_ to forget.

Maybe if I concentrate really hard, I can lock them into a part of my mind Dr Valentine can't reach.

My name is Martin, son of Jonathan Brisby. I have mother, two sisters, and a brother who will do great things in life.

I can feel the pain jolt through my bones, like an aftershock of my last treatment, and my brain buzzes and throbs.

My name is Martin, I love my family. I hope they know that. Especially my Mother.

My name is Martin, and I...and I... I can't do this! This isn't fair! If it weren't for Tim and the stupid Rats I wouldn't even be here right now! I'd be home, with my mother and my sisters, safe! Safe and boring; overlooked, under appreciated. In trouble.

The rigidness in my body passes and I curl into myself on the floor, my arms wrapped tightly around my midsection, staring blankly at the cage wall.

_Idiots._

_Traitors._

Stupid, every last one of them.

I don't need them.

I'm smarter than_ all _of them.

I can do anything.

_Anything_.

My name is Martin, and someday soon, I'm going to make them pay for what they did to me. All of them.

Every. Last. One.

Starting with Dr Valentine.


End file.
